Data Platform Job Roles: A Career Guide

These are a series of posts that can assist beginners who are eager to dive into the “data platform” or professionals who are considering a career in analytics. I’ll do my best to provide as much information as possible.

A data platform is a collection of technologies that work together to support an organization’s end-to-end data requirements. It provides a security layer for users and applications, as well as data collecting, storage, preparation, distribution, and governance.

A data platform is a comprehensive solution for ingesting, processing, analyzing, and visualizing data generated by systems, processes, and infrastructures.

The following is a comprehensive list of job roles related to data-platform, but not limited to them.

Data Analyst
Big Data Analyst
Product Analyst
Marketing Analyst
Digital Analyst
Logistics Analyst
Business Systems Analyst
Business Intelligence Analyst
Data Scientist
Data Engineer
Machine Learning Engineer
Datawarehouse Engineer
ETL Expert
Data Architect
Database Administrator
Data and Analytics Manager

In certain companies, the job title and nature of work do not match, therefore closely examine the job criteria.

Let’s take a look at what they are and what it takes to become one. We’ll go through each job role, its responsibilities, required skillsets, and compensation ranges in this article. Please note that the average salary is calculated based on hundred job-listings and various web sources such as ZipRecruiter, PayScale, etc. The salary also depend on the experience.

Data Analyst:

The process of analyzing, cleansing, manipulating, and modeling data with the objective of identifying usable information, informing conclusions, and assisting decision-making is known as data analysis. And the below are the key-responsibilities of a data analyst.

Data should be interpreted, outcomes should be analyzed using statistical approaches.
Develop and implement databases, data collection systems, data analytics, and other statistical efficiency and quality initiatives.
Maintain databases and data systems by collecting data from primary and secondary data sources.
In complex data sets, identify, analyze, and understand trends or patterns.
Extensive knowledge of data models and reporting software.
The ability to evaluate vast datasets and develop detailed reports.
Organize, validate data for correctness and completeness, remove errors/discrepancies, aggregate data in tables and graphs, distribute, and interpret data either manually or automatically.
Developing and putting diverse modeling methodologies to the test.

Although this is not an exhaustive list, and not all of them are required by a company, the bulk of job requirements are based on the above-mentioned list. Let’s have a look at the skills that a data-analyst must possess in order to be considered for the aforesaid position.

Platform: Mostly Windows
Databases: SQL Products (MySQL, Oracle SQL*Plus, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Teradata, DB2, or Microsoft Access)
Reporting Packages: Business Objects, SSRS, Power-BI, Tableau, etc.
Statistical Packages or tools: Microsoft Excel, SPSS, SAS, etc.
Salary Range: $40,000 – $79,000 (US), 25,000-80,000 (Per Month – India)

Most companies do not require data analysts to have all of the above skill sets because data analysts only need to analyze the data that is already in their SQL product. Data analysts must be familiar with Microsoft Excel in order to create charts, pivot tables, and reports. In a few companies, the data analyst must not only perform analysis but also create reports using SSRS, Power-BI, or other visualization tools. As a result, the requirements and skill set may differ from one company to the next.

Big Data Analyst:

For data analysts, it makes little difference whether the data is small or big. Finally, the data must be analyzed in such a way that some value can be identified that will aid in the improvement of the business.

Job Requirements:
Except for the tools/softwares, the job requirements are nearly identical to those for ‘data analyst.’

Platform / Domain: Windows/Linux, HDFS
Statistical Packages or Tools: Apache Hive, Apache Impala, Apache Sqoop, Spark, Scala
Reporting Packages: Tableue or QlikView or PowerBI
Salary Range: $50,000 – $165,000 (US), 25,000-80,000 (Per Month – India)

Product Analyst:

Product analysts analyze market data to assist businesses in developing product marketing strategies. They compare a company’s product to industry trends to ensure that a product is appropriate and profitable.

A bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or a related field is required for a career as a product analyst. Knowledge of business finance and economics is also advantageous.

Job Requirements:

Generate research plans; defining and tracking user experience metrics, coordinating work on multiple product releases, and managing additional resources
Understanding or experience with research methodologies.
Data analytics skills are required to uncover behavioral insights and inform design decisions.
Estimating the costs of developing and marketing a product, as well as potential sales and profit.

Platform: Mostly Windows
Databases: SQL Products (MySQL, Oracle SQL*Plus, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Teradata, DB2, or Microsoft Access)
Statistical Packages or Tools: Microsoft Office, especially Ms-Excel
Salary Range: $40,000 – $76,149 (US), 25,000-45,000 (Per Month – India)

Some companies require a product analyst to be a data-analyst or data-scientist in order to develop and implement supervised and unsupervised statistical machine learning models using industry standard tools such as R or Python. Some companies required a product analyst to have marketing analyst skills in order to research market trends.

Marketing Analyst:

Marketing analysts assist businesses and organizations in determining which products and services to sell, to whom, and at what price. They reach their conclusions after researching market conditions, competitor activity, and consumer behavior.

While much of a market analyst’s work will revolve around compiling data for use in marketing campaigns, it also necessitates a creative mind capable of exploring consumer insights. This career path can be an excellent choice for those who enjoy combining statistics and math with creative thinking.

Job Requirements:

Holds primary responsibility for the overall marketing strategy and its alignment with organizational goals and the product delivery roadmap.
Forecasting future product and purchasing trends.
Tracking, reporting, and running analysis for ongoing and planned initiatives and campaigns.
Running tests, collecting and analyzing data and results, and identifying trends and insights to maximize ROI in paid search campaigns.
Constantly assessing industry trends in order to conceptualize new marketing ideas such as content and SEO, performance marketing, and press releases.
Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) for success, constantly measuring them, and suggesting improvements to improve returns.
A market analyst usually work closely with Product, Sales and Engineering teams.

Platform: Mostly Windows
Databases: SQL Products (MySQL, Oracle SQL*Plus, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Teradata, DB2, or Microsoft Access)
Reporting Packages: Business Objects, SSRS, Power-BI, Tableau, etc.
Statistical Packages or tools: Microsoft Excel, SPSS, SAS, Adobe Analytics (Omniture SiteCatalyst), Adobe Target, Adobe Audience Manager, or similar web analytics, web optimization, or data management platforms.
Salary Ranges: $43,520 to $187,200

Please keep reading the subsequent posts.

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